Catch up on some related episodes:

How to figure out what's a priority (when everything feels like a priority)

Today’s talking points:

We should dedicate time to assess our progress rather than constantly fixating on the next checkpoint. The key to achieving this is by establishing a monthly feedback loop. Let me show you how.

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Welcome to part three of the How To Run Your Business Like a Boss series!

In this episode, we’re diving into part 2 of my Triple Threat Method - the Monthly Prep Meeting. I want to talk about how a monthly practice, a monthly meeting on your calendar to actually build in a feedback loop for yourself and for self-accountability will help so much!

Having a system like this in place for your business means that your plan doesn't just become another Google doc or Notion page that you're never looking at again but is actually a living, breathing document that you are actively using and checking in with to create progress and momentum in your business.

We’re going to cover:

The check-in process I use for my Monthly Prep Meeting
What kinds of questions you can ask yourself as you look back on the previous month
The consequences of NOT tracking and documenting things in your business on a consistent basis
How to check in on your business metrics & revenue each month (without obsessing over them)
What to do if you discover you’ve fallen behind on your project goals
The last thing you need to do at the end of your monthly prep meeting

This is what we’ll be doing live together every month as part of The Embodied Boss Collective so I hope it gives you some good insights!

Keep bossing it.

the monthly Prep meeting check-in process

So this practice is your monthly prep meeting. This monthly prep meeting is your way of gearing up for the month ahead. I usually slot it in at the end of each month, precisely on the last Friday. It's a separate deal from my weekly prep meeting, which is non-negotiable, by the way.

This is your chance to review, rearrange, and avoid any potential mess-ups before they become headaches. We're aiming for smooth sailing, not emergency mode.

Many business owners miss out on having a feedback loop and regular check-ins and end up feeling frantic about their businesses, always feeling like they're in emergency mode. This monthly routine is our solution to that chaos. It's the checkpoint to ensure you're on the right track and gives you a moment to reflect on your progress.

review your 12-month game plan

The initial step, the absolute first thing to do, is to pull up your plan.

If you haven't documented a plan for the year or the quarter, you can get started with the first episode in the How To Run Your Business Like a BOSS series here.

The first thing to do is review and reflect on your plan and your progress so far. I kick things off by looking at my 12-month goals.

Every month during my prep meeting, I revisit the exercises from the 2024 Game Plan series. This isn't just some random exercise; this is how I run my business. By having these documents in front of me, I stay grounded in reality and my goals. It prevents me from jumping onto the next shiny object or a new idea that pops into my head. And let’s be honest, this happens to us, as business owners, often. We get the instinct to drop everything and run after the new idea, but, hold up boss, that's not the move - constantly chasing shiny objects prevents us from gaining momentum on our overall goals.

Reviewing my 2024 Game Plan and annual plan serves as a check-in before I get distracted. I go over my annual goals, evaluate progress, and ask the important questions – are we on track or off track? It's a necessary reality check.

Review your current 90 day plan

Once I've got those answers in check, it's time to delve into the next phase – a close look at my current 90-day plan.

For instance, during my monthly prep meeting at the end of February, I'll be focusing on my current 90-day plan, covering January, February, and March. I refer back to it, assess my progress, and track how I'm navigating through my 30-60-90 (a crucial part of my 90-day planning process).

As I look at my 90-day goals and plan, the first thing I start to ask myself is how well I managed my time off. Life before business is a core value for me, my children take top priority and this is woven into my plan in the feedback loop. Did I genuinely take the scheduled time off? It's a valid question because, let's be real, we've all experienced taking time off while our minds are still tethered to work. Did I rest, play, feel restored, and energised? Or do I need more time off? And this is a huge question that I have to ask myself because sometimes, I will get a bit too excited and get too overloaded. I have to have these check-ins so that I can keep my calendar working for me. That’s number one, for me.

Now, the next set of questions I’m asking for the 90-day plan are revenue-related. Did I hit my monthly revenue goal? If so, great. If not, why? Various factors, both within and outside your control, can influence this. The key is to analyse how it aligns with the broader yearly plan. If the goal wasn't met, what actions can bridge the gap? Extra promotions, re-engaging clients, or other strategies may come into play here. It's about looking at it objectively, to make sure we stay on track towards our annual revenue goals and not letting one bad month impact our overall objectives.

The third set of questions I’m asking myself are related to my marketing. I’m asking myself what attract activities have I been doing. How many people have joined my email list? What nurture marketing did I do? I'm really going through auditing the things that impact my revenue.

I meticulously go through my planner, reviewing each week, and ensuring I've met other goals beyond revenue and marketing. Am I on track or off track? Are there adjustments, delegations, or clarifications needed to propel progress? Am I getting in the way and being the bottleneck?

tracking & documenting in your business

So I need to ask myself, are we on track or off track with any other goals or anything else in our plan? Do I need to shift from being the bottleneck and open up progress on a specific goal? Do I need to make space in the coming month to make sure that I can do my part on that goal and make it happen?

But the real gem is the ability to go back every week and see every factor that has contributed to the monthly results. This feedback loop, this accountability tool, lets you see if you’re consistently completing your top three tasks weekly.

This system has been strategically integrated into my weekly prep meeting, where I assess whether I hit my top three goals, my boss score for the week, and what obstacles got in my way. It provides insights into what's working and what's not, prompting adjustments before things veer too off track.

And honestly, if things have gone off track and I’m not moving through my plan like I anticipated, it’s usually because I've overcommitted somewhere and I have become the bottleneck somewhere I have too much on my calendar. In such cases, the monthly prep meeting becomes crucial for figuring out the necessary adjustments to get back on track and prioritise the most impactful tasks.

Going through weekly reviews means acknowledging if my week was too full, or if I'm tired or stressed. This proactive approach allows me to make better decisions moving forward, adjust my calendar for the upcoming month, reschedule or cancel appointments, and decline non-essential commitments. It's all about making decisions before things escalate into a crisis, ensuring I have time to think.

The system provides an opportunity for feedback, reflection, and self-accountability. This triple threat method of quarterly, monthly, and weekly meetings, implemented in the Embodied Boss Collective, ensures we don't forget crucial details even a few weeks later. Without clear documentation and tracking, assumptions about accomplishments can lead to overestimating or underestimating progress.

And here's a reminder: the business you have today is a result of the work you did three to six months ago. If you don't document and track, you're limiting your ability to make informed decisions.

review your business metrics

The next thing that I am reviewing is my metrics. Now, it’s not my daily obsession, and I won't lose sleep over follower counts or email list numbers. But, every week and month, I take a measured look. Weekly, I gather my stats, and monthly, I dive into all the metrics on my tracking sheet. It's about having all the data in one place, spotting trends, and recognising patterns.

Understanding your business numbers is really important as our decisions should be based on data, not drama. When you understand the numbers and the metrics and the correlation between your activities and results you can understand what you need to reach your goals. It turns turns business into a numbers game. It helps you make better forecasts of what you're going to bring into your business because your metrics are helping you predict them. It gets easier over time and it helps you make better and better decisions.

A monthly deep dive keeps my finger on the business pulse without overwhelming me. The goal is data-driven decisions, and the more you track, the easier forecasting future outcomes becomes in your business.

review your business revenue

So after we check our metrics, we check revenue.

You want to take a close look at the previous month's revenue. While we've already assessed our annual revenue goal, now we're reviewing the previous month.

The key questions I ask myself are: Did I hit the revenue goal, and what were the contributing factors? If the goal wasn't met, understanding why becomes paramount. It could be due to various factors.

Identifying the root cause is important. Is it that you didn't hit the revenue goal because an invoice was paid late? Or is it that you didn't hit the revenue goal because you didn't actively invite anyone to work with you? You know, is it that I didn't have anything for sale? Or did I not hit my revenue goal because I didn't make enough invitations? I didn't have enough sales calls booked because I didn't do the marketing activity to get those sales calls. You have to drill down and figure out what slowed things down and what contributed to that result because it'll help you make better decisions

Another question to ask yourself is whether you actively or passively sold your offer. This is a big one. This is a significant consideration, particularly in the initial years of business. I've observed substantial shifts in buying behaviour, especially within service-oriented programs, education, training, and consulting – industries similar to mine. The landscape has evolved noticeably with the industry's growth, the influx of peers, and the increasing sophistication of potential clients, empowered by abundant information and resources. The surge in women starting small businesses has added to this dynamic.

I consistently ask myself if I'm aligning my sales strategy with current industry dynamics. If I notice reliance on passive methods, especially in evergreen models, isn't bringing in optimal results, it prompts a reevaluation. Active selling, particularly for higher-ticket offers, often proves more effective, especially with the energy and effort invested in marketing.

Each month, I evaluate if my sales strategies align with achieving my desired results. If the revenue goal wasn't met in the previous month, I explore the gaps that need filling. Do I need to add in a more high touch more personalised sales strategy in order to bring on more clients?

It's just important because if we don't catch these gaps early, then we get further into the year and we realise we're off course or even worse, we get a few months in and you start to look at your bank account and realise I can't keep ahead of expenses, or you can't pay yourself what I need to pay yourself. When you're catching these things earlier, you can avoid these problems.

review your marketing efforts

Once I've gained clarity on the performance review, the next step involves examining the marketing strategies got the previous month.

Repeatedly, I ask myself, "What worked, and what didn't work?" It's about identifying the 20% that generated 80% of the results. Delving into metrics, I go back to see what emails garnered the highest open or click-through rates. I look to my podcast episodes and downloads, and social media analytics provide insights into the most engaging content. Direct messages (DMs) serve as a valuable channel for understanding audience reactions, too.

This helps me figure out what to double down on and where I want to go next. This question has helped me to course correct myself quite a few times.

This marketing review not only informs decision-making but also aids in efficient content creation. If overwhelmed with content creation, this analysis helps identify evergreen content that can be repurposed for fresh engagement. It's about maximising the value of the content and taking care of your energy at the same time.

If a certain marketing channel isn't doing well, I try to understand if it's something beyond my control or if there's a better platform to use. I've learned to adapt, like when I realised video content works but doing live videos every week was too much for me. Instead of giving up on video, I found a way to include it in my strategy without overwhelming myself.

Once I know what worked and what didn't, I plan ahead for the coming month. I have a simple process where I use a Google Doc to outline content for my podcasts, newsletters, and social media. This way, I can allocate time to create the content without feeling rushed. It's about being proactive and organised to keep things running smoothly.

calendar planning is essential

Now, the final thing that I do at the end of my monthly prep meeting is I sit down and manage my calendar. Now we're going to talk about this a lot because managing my calendar is becoming more and more important as my family and business grows. Chances are it's the biggest bottleneck for a lot of you.

I am in a constant state of reevaluating and refining what I need to do to run my calendar effectively. So as I'm looking at the month ahead, I'm asking myself, Okay, do I need to take time off? What boundaries do I need to protect my time? Do I need to adjust anything in my calendar? Are there any deadlines or timelines I need to move back? Do I need to block out some time on my calendar for creative work for creating content or for building something new?

Everything goes into my calendar, or it would not happen - I'd rather just be proactive and block that time out in advance. Managing my calendar is a big part of my monthly prep meeting because I want to be ahead of the curve. I don't want to be a week off trying to get something done and realise my calendar is too full. That means, again, I'm the bottleneck unless I stay up late to work weekends and I don't want to do that. I want to make sure I am far ahead of my responsibilities. Calendar management is so key as part of this monthly prep meeting.

a monthly feedback loop is a game changer

As you can tell this is a process that is honestly not normal for a lot of entrepreneurs because we tend to be very future-orientated, focusing on what's next and not slowing down or pressing pause to reflect. It’s important we really take the time to figure out what we can learn from everything to figure out what you may need to adapt or adjust to make sure we're moving forward intentionally.

We don’t want to ignore or avoid challenges and roadmaps along the way, but we want to start paying attention to when things aren't working so that we can fix them earlier in the process. We can then start getting that real momentum in our businesses.

P.S. Here is last weeks episode, part two of the ‘How To Run Your Business Like a BOSS’ series, in case you missed it - How to turn your big goals into actionable checkoffable 90-day plans